It all started with Super Fudge .. creating a life long passion for reading.

It is those parenting moments that just melt your heart.  They make all the hard work and sleepless nights worth it.  Walking into my daughter's room and finding her with her head in a book is just that moment.  Reading was such a struggle for me. I didn't read my first chapter book until I was in grade four. I spent an entire week hiding under my covers with a flash light reading Judy Blume's 'Super Fudge.' While reading was and continues to be a struggle - that book ignited a love of reading that has fuelled both my personal and professional life in so many unexpected ways. Now after six years of putting Bowen to bed with a story every night... I may be obsolete. She is as much a veracious reader as I ever was and at much younger age.#gradeonereader #soproud❤️

Lest We Forget - Moving Forward As A School Community

Tomorrow I have to give a speech about peace. I will ask 350 young and vulnerable minds to reflect on their own lives and to consider the sacrifices of those who have come before them. We will bow our heads and honour those that 'gave their tomorrows for our todays.'

It is not a speech I can typically get through without tears rolling down my face, but this year I fear those tears will represent something quite different. My tears will well up deep from within the notion that those same vulnerable minds will walk out of that assembly and into a world that has clearly forgotten.

They will walk into a world where hate, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia are are still prevailing forces. They will walk into a world that has clearly forgotten what those sacrifices were for.

Sure ... maybe not in Canada. But let's be honest, in a globalized world this sends a message that transcends boarders.

We will dismiss those 350 students back to class and then as a school community we will get back to work. Because we aren't there yet...

Tecumseh Annex ROCK Stars - Update.

Wow!   Nearly one month in and what a buzz the ROCK initiative has created at our school.  We are at 300 ROCK Stars - nearly at our 500 ROCK Star goal.

And what we see:  kids talking about Respect, having Open Minds, Community, and Kindness; adults having conversations with kids about what that looks like in every location;  adults catching kids in the moment; community members asking what it is all about, asking if they can do it at home; and students proudly sharing our ROCK star board with their parents.

Fun, excitement, buzz and an 80% reduction in office referrals!  All from teaching the rules.  How does a code of conduct shape culture?  When you make it fun it can define your culture.  Tecumseh Annex ROCKs!

Risha Golby @ Tecumseh Annex 

Risha Golby @ Tecumseh Annex 

Risha Golby @ Tecumseh Annex 

What defines your school culture? PBIS/ PBS

Tecumseh Annex ROCKs

Recently at a staff meeting our team had an 'aha moment.'  I will admit I poked the bear here, but isn't that what leaders do?  The discussion was around the topic of The Code of Conduct.   One of our school goals this year is to reduce the number of behavioural incidents particularly coming from less structured, less supervised times and settings such as lunch and recess.

I should give you some background here - Tecumseh Annex is a K-3 school in Vancouver with a reputation for excellence in teaching.  Our staff strives to go above and beyond to serve our families and community.  We are a beacon for social emotional learning, and were recently featured on the front page of the Vancouver Sun for Lora Bird's (one of our Kindergarten teachers) work in this area. link to Vancouver Sun Article

Less than 5% of our office incident referrals come from the classroom.  This isn't to say that students never have behaviour concerns in the classroom, rather seasoned teachers who are child centred build excellent classroom systems to support students with their behaviour. They deliver engaging lessons, and have interwoven opportunities for students to practice self-regulation throughout the day.  

Yet, over the last few years we have seen a trend that I believe many educators will identify with - while students can manage in structured settings like the classroom, things tend to fall apart in unstructured settings such as lunch, recess, transitions, etc.  

Makes sense right?  Our students can and do demonstrate strong pro-social skills under the guidance of an adult, but struggle to do the same independently.  And there seems to be a logical solution... increase the adult supervision.  At Tecumseh Annex this is what we have done, and will remain doing - thoughtful placement of adult supervision to minimize student conflict in predictable settings.

But here's the rub and the simple reason why we cannot stop here.  Isn't the goal of education, be it academic or social emotional learning, to teach kids to be independent? Isn't the playground the best opportunity for kids to practice social independence?  Doesn't the fact that students are struggling in these settings to find success suggest another obvious answer - maybe our kids don't know how.  In Ross Green's "Lost at School" he puts it simply - "kids do well if they can." This premise has always raised a simple question in my mind - what is it that we need to teach kids so that they can be successful in these settings?

This brings me back to that 'aha moment.'  As a team we were discussing the language we use to teach kids about expectations on the playground.  The discussion centred around our current Code of Conduct.  The Code of Conduct was the heading for our behavioural expectations at Tecumseh Annex and refers to the expectation that students - Be Safe, and Be Respectful in all settings.  

So, insert my question to the team -  "Do you think the kids really care about The Code of Conduct?  Does it define our school and what we do, does it engage them, does it make them excited?" 

If someone were to ask me the same question, I doubt that I would say, "at the heart of Tecumseh Annex we are The Code of Conduct."  I would probably say, first and foremost, "We have fun!"  Again I asked, "Is this really the 'title' that should frame the language we use to engage our kids in teaching them how to independently be successful in social situations?"  

And that's when it hit... that magic moment when the light bulbs started going off around the room.  Within minutes we were Tecumseh Annex 'ROCKs.'  Ideas for what the acronym stood for were bouncing around the room - engaging deep conversations about who we are, what we do, what's important for our kids, staff and community.  We were engaged, we were having fun and we were excited!  RESPECT, OPEN MIND, COMMUNITY and KINDNESS - This is the heart of Tecumseh Annex.

Respect, Open Mind, Community, Kindness

Every day for two weeks the teachers have agreed to use classroom time to take the kids out to the playground setting and teach, role model and practice what it means to ROCK in those settings.  

The supervising adults at lunch and recess will try to catch kids being successful and acknowledge them with a positive comment and add their name to our ROCK Star Board.  When we reach 500 ROCK Stars we will have a whole school celebration, dance party and performance of an original song written by Lora Bird and performed by our students.  

We will compare office referrals pre and post ROCK to see if we are on the right track, and if we have been successful may focus our ROCK initiative in a different direction;  lunch room, community building, etc.  

And guess what?  The kids are pumped, excited and engaged.  

Please stay tuned for updates on our progress.  A big thank you to our amazing staff, who never shy away from new ideas and ways of approaching teaching and learning.  To our PAC and their ongoing generous donations for such initiatives.  And to Lisa Sher @ sher designs.

for designing our posters and Rock Stars which so aptly reflect the fun and engagement we are trying to promote.  

What do your school rules say about you?

Risha Golby // Finding Inspiration

For the past year I've been focusing on student blogging and lost some of my own inspiration for doing the same.  Sometimes you need to find inspiration in the things that are not typically your day to day. Spent the Christmas holidays with getting back in touch with some of my other passions - adventuring and night photography. We are truly blessed to call British Columbia home.

Risha Golby // Duffy Lake Road at Night

Risha Golby // Sea to Sky at Night

Pink Shirt Day

This week at Tecumseh Annex we celebrated Pink Shirt Day – The national anti-bullying and anti-homophobia campaign with our Kindergartens to Grade 3s.

In order to teach our students that different is ok and that our strength comes from the diversity of the group, our Kindergarten teacher, Lora Bird, wrote and composed a song "Rainbow" that all of our students learnt in preparation for our Pink Shirt Day celebration. 

Watch the following link to hear the song and see a slide show of our Pink Day activities. 

"Rainbow" lyrics by Lora Bird

While Pink Shirt Day provides us an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on anti-bullying, we as teachers recognize that respecting difference cannot just be a one day event.   Tecumseh Annex prides itself as being a place that teaches to the whole child; heart, mind and body. 

The teachers at Tecumseh Annex embrace the diversity of each of our children by placing a large emphasis on teaching social responsibility and pro-social skills from an early age. As someone who is relatively new to early childhood learning, the opportunity to watch and learn from seasoned teachers who embrace this type of social learning has been a privilege.

As many of you know I present and speak around the province about the importance of a social curriculum when designing school systems for supporting behaviour.  What my experience at Tecumseh Annex has reinforced for me is that key to what we hope children gain from school is the same - Kindergarten through to Grade 12.   The delivery may change but the content is the same:  RESPECT!  

If you are interested in the "Rainbow" song or using it as a resource, please contact Lora Bird directly by emailing her at lbird@vsb.bc.ca

Blogging with Kindies?

Build it and they will come?  

Many of you know that I just started as the admin / tech teacher/ librarian at a K-3 school in Vancouver. It's a lot of hats, but I am very excited to:
a.  be working in the community that I live in, and
b.  challenging myself to work in early childhood education.  Lets face it - this is where it counts!

As always, I am excited to have the opportunity to teach technology.  So imagine my surprise when I started to explore the tools at my disposal: books on vinyl, cassette tapes, VHS players, 5 computers that don't work, and NO WIRELESS!  Not the luxury I have become accustomed to.

We are starting small;  one personal iPhone, one personal 3G iPad, one library blog, one projector, a thousand ideas, and a very eager group of kids and parents.

But if you are questioning why blogging with Kindies?  Think about it this way:

1.  Kids get inspired to write and create when they know that they are connecting and sharing their work with their families, friends and classrooms around the world.  
2.  I believe that it encourages our young learners to take pride and ownership of their own work, while developing higher thinking skills by critically assessing and commenting on other's work.
3.  I believe that as educators we have a responsibility to create a platform for teaching respect, and above all safety, in relation to technology and online learning.
4.  And last, but not least, I hope that our students learn the power of creation vs consumption when it comes to technology.

We are starting slow and hoping to grow.  Please feel free to check out our site www.annexlibrary.edublogs.org .  If you visit our Blogging Guidelines Page, there is a more detailed outline of the purpose of school blogs and safety measures. Feel free to leave comment.  Just remember -please don't identify our students by their full names.  Use initials instead. 

If you are a teacher and would like to connect/ do a shared class books study etc. please let me know.

Risha Golby
"Every child, every day, every chance."  

Intelligence Testing?

After being asked to do a timed IQ test yesterday, where I literally stared at the screen and couldn't answer any of the language based questions, I was reminded of this recent post that I shared on facebook.  At the time I was thinking more in relation to my students; how each student has gifts and strengths to share with society.  I strongly believe that it is our job as teachers to help them realize those gifts.  I see these gifts in all of our students from those who are 'gifted' readers, singers, mathematicians,  to those who may struggle with behaviour, or even those with severe physical and mental disabilities.  I learn from my students every day as they really are my teachers: teaching me patience, love, humility, acceptance, what it means to be resilient, what it means to be kind, and on, and on.

However, after yesterday's test I was reminded personally of how important it is to consider intelligence more broadly.  In high school, after doing a personality profile and IQ test, it was recommended that I pursue a career as a Drivers Ed Instructor or Customs Official - or as I read it - don't bother trying to go to University.  Luckily (what the test may or may not have picked up on) if someone tells me what I can't do, come hell or high water, I do what it takes to prove them wrong.  

My sincere hope is that all of our students develop the self confidence, resiliency and 'stick-with-it-ness' to know that their potential is much greater than one, or even a thousand tests could ever measure.  Maybe this is the purpose of school?

How did I get here?

The aha moment  defined as  "a moment of clarity, a defining moment where you gain real wisdom - wisdom you can use to change your life."

After 4 years of slogging through a philosophy degree at the University of Toronto in the continual challenge to answer the question of 'how do you know your right?', it all came down to a simple "aha!"  Simple in theory, but bassed on so many conditions:  our nature, our nurture, our collective and personal experiences all leading us to this supposed point of clarity.   Concepts that are not fixed but fluid, continually shifting and changing.  A concept of morality that is both liberating in its individual freedom and at the same time frightening, because it presupposes that as citizens of the world we may never come to the same conclusions about the nature of right and wrong.

Don't worry, I can already hear the groans at the mention of philosophy.  4 Years of worrying that I better perfect my ability to say "and would you like fries with that?"  I had difficulty, as I am sure many philosophy students can attest, imaging a job or career at the end of my degree.  I toyed with the idea law school, graduate studies in ethics, starting all over again in a major that was more ... practical.   But at the end of my 4 years, I put practicality aside and thought what do I love to do?

And it didn't come from philosophy.  It just came from having fun.  Throughout my teen years I had been a coach, a camp counsellor, a snowboard instructor ... all periods in my life when I felt pure joy with what I was doing.  The career of teaching had never really occurred to me as my own school experience had been a hard road.  A learning disability, a propensity to always see things differently than my peers, a stubbornness in my convictions, and questions about my own sexual identity, all creating the perfect storm for a difficult school experience.

Yet the desire to teach, to reach out, to help, to explain the world around me that wasn't something I couldn't ignore.  So in an "aha moment'  I decided that I wanted to learn how to be a teacher.  And what a journey it has been: as an inner city school teacher, an alternate school teacher, and indigenous and rural educator, a school and district administrator, and a presenter in the filed of Special Education and Behaviour Support.  My carrer has taken me from Toronto, to Sydney Australia, Figi, the UK, to the far north of Canada and final home to the Pacific North West, to Vancouver B.C where I proudly work as a Vice Principal at Glenwood Elementary School in Maple Ridge.  My journey in teaching has been epically emotional, exhausting, fulfilling, joyous, and life altering; something that I never could have dreamed or imagined.  

Yet, even after 15 years of an amazing career I still reflect back on a system of schooling that was in its nature broken for me.  With the best intentions of making education individualized and engaging I see my own students struggling with the same things I did over 20 years ago.  So here I find myself,  reflecting back on my days as a philosophy student asking once again, 'how do we know we are right?'  My hope for this Blog is that it is a place where I can write, reflect, and challenge myself as an educator, and in turn allow myself to be challenged by others...  all in the hope of that "aha moment" where I know that we can get it right for kids.